STAUNTON – A winter storm with the potential for historic snowfall has moved into Virginia and will begin to impact the Shenandoah Valley later this morning. Virginia Department of Transportation crews and contractors begin 24-hour snow removal operations today throughout the 11-county Staunton District.

VDOT urges the public to seek shelter and avoid all but emergency travel during the storm and immediately after it ends. Having fewer vehicles on the road will help plows do their job quicker.

Roughly 1,000 pieces of equipment will be plowing state-maintained roads in the Staunton District, including VDOT trucks and contractor equipment. There will be 2,000 people involved in snow-removal operations.

Anti-icing operations took place Thursday on interstates and key primary roads. Plows have been pre-staged in many locations and will begin their work soon after the first flakes begin to fall. Temperatures have been consistently below freezing this week, so snow will quickly stick to roadways.

For winter weather road conditions go to www.511Virginia.org, look at the orange bar on the top of the page and click on “Text Views” and then click on “Road Condition Table”. Look at the pull down box that lists all jurisdictions. In this box individual counties can be chosen to view.

Traffic alerts and traveler information also are available at 511Virginia.org. The 511 system is also available in app form. Visit VDOT’sFree Virginia 511 Toolsto get your 511 app for android or iOS. Traffic alerts and traveler information can be obtained by dialing 511.

For other assistance call the VDOT Customer Service Center, available 24 hours-a-day, seven days a week. Citizens can dial 1-800-FOR- ROAD (1-800-367-7623) from anywhere in the state to report road hazards, ask transportation questions, or get information related to Virginia’s roads.

Information in VDOT news releases was accurate at the time the release was published. For the most current information about projects or programs, please visit the project or program Web pages. You may find those by searching by keyword in the search Virginia DOT box above.

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